Honduran union & USAS win historic victory with Russell Athletic case

Posted on Mon, 11/23/2009 - 3:33pm

United Students Against Sweatshops wants to share news of a major victory with all of you who have supported our efforts along the way.

As many of you know, USAS launched a campaign last year after Russell Athletic shuttered its Jerzees De Honduras facility in retaliation to workers' union organizing efforts. Since then, USAS members successfully pressured over 100 universities to stop doing business with Russell, making this the largest collegiate boycott of a single company that we're aware of in history.

Finally, last week, the Honduran garment worker union SITRAJERZEESH (member of Central General de Trabajadores) signed an historic agreement with Russell Athletic. Not only did Russell agree to reopen the factory and give all 1,200 workers their jobs back (both totally unprecedented), they also agreed to union neutrality in all of their Honduras plants. SITRAJERZEESH's victory proves another world is possible even in the midst of a global economic crisis. We look forward to building on this momentum not only with our union allies in the global garment industry, but also on our campuses where the economic downturn serves as an excuse for savage budget cuts, layoffs, tuition hikes and worse.